The beautiful slopes of the South Downs should be swathes of grass nourishing flocks of sheep.

But researcher Dr John Boardman says increasingly they are becoming white and barren thanks to erosion and modern farming methods.

He has found the soil is becoming much thinner because it is often washed away during heavy rain where crops are grown.

Dr Boardman believes it could be washed away to such an extent that farming eventually no longer remains viable.

What's needed is more encouragement by landowners and the Government to persuade farmers to return to sheep farming on the Downs.

Unless action is taken soon, on some steep slopes there may soon be no soil where grass or anything else can grow.